Gmail Labs Feature Helps You Avoid E-Mailing the Wrong 'Bob'

"Got the Wrong Bob?", a new feature in Gmail Labs, will alert you if it thinks you're about to e-mail the wrong person.

Several times in the last few months, I've accidentally e-mailed my friend Nicole in DC instead of my co-worker Nicole. Luckily, these were harmless messages that didn't say anything inappropriate to the wrong Nicole, but I imagine other people have made the same mistake with less pleasant results.

Enter "Got the wrong Bob?" from Google. The new feature in Gmail Labs will alert you if it thinks you're about to e-mail the wrong person. If, for example, I frequently e-mail Corinne, Molly, and (work) Nicole about something, but have accidentally typed in the e-mail addresses for Corinne, Molly and (DC) Nicole, Gmail will display a message underneath the address bar that says: Did you mean work Nicole instead of DC Nicole?

"Turn it on from the Labs tab under Gmail Settings, and based on the groups of people you email most often, Gmail will try to identify when you've accidentally included the wrong person -- before it's too late," Google wrote in a blog post.

The feature only works if you're e-mailing more than two people at a time, so you still have to be careful on e-mails to just one person.

To coincide with this release, Google also changed the name of the auto-suggest "add more recipients" to "Don't forget Bob."

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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